MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan - While the world focuses on the devastation in Haiti, millions of people in Japan — including tens of thousands of U.S. troops and their families — sit on their own seismic time bomb.

Emergency Management Department’s primary mission is to increase public awareness by providing the tools and resources needed to educate, engage, and sustain in the event of a catastrophe.  Disaster preparedness is essential in preparing for the possibility of a natural disaster or a Chemical, Biological, or Radiological incident which may affect the Misawa area. 

Misawa Disaster Evacuation Area Map

This map marks the local parks and school yards that are designated as the primary evacuation areas in the event of a major earthquake or other disaster. Please proceed to the nearest evacuation area if your residence is destroyed or unsafe due to damage and you cannot safely return to the base. Once personnel are at the evacuation site, they should stay put, unless otherwise directed, and make every effort to notify the base of their whereabouts. View enlarged map.

Preparing in a Land of Earthquakes

Officials say it’s not a question of if, but when, a massive earthquake will rock the country. "Japan is a land of earthquakes," said Hiroshi Araya of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s earthquake prediction information division. "It could happen anywhere."  Read More in Preparing in ‘a land of earthquakes’

Article used with permission from Stars and Stripes. © 2010 Stars and Stripes.

Download a copy of The NAF Misawa Family Emergency Management Brief.